At a time when the County of Santa Clara is searching for solutions to a projected $172.4 million deficit, it now faces the potential of an estimated $74.7 million in additional cuts incorporated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger into the "May Revision" of his January 2008-2009 proposed budget.
"The bulk of the impact won't be known until we have a chance to analyze the revised budget more closely, but our initial review indicates that the impact might be in excess of $70 million and that is on top of the $172.4 million deficit we already are trying to address," County Executive Pete Kutras said. "No matter how you look at it, the impact will be terrible for the people in our community who rely on county services. My heart goes out to the community."
The sweeping changes, mainly affecting the delivery of health and social services, create hardships for clients, delays in receiving benefits, and delayed or reduced payments to the county. The May revise proposes changes that include reducing service hours for certain In-Home Support Services clients, in addition to reduced state reimbursement to counties for wage costs. Other proposed reductions include tighter Medi-Cal eligibility requirements for uninsured women in the Women,
"In many cases, immigrants and the disabled are the most vulnerable members of our community and they are the ones that will suffer most from the state's health and human services cuts," said Supervisor Pete McHugh, chair of the county Board of Supervisors.
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